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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

TOS Review: 'Mother, Should I Trust The Government?' from Freedom Project Education

I was thrilled to get a chance to review one of the online courses from Freedom Project Education. FPE offers several 2015 courses for students ranging in ages, from Grades K-12. Freedom Project Education offers online, and some on campus, courses that promise to be Common Core Free, Classical education and are based upon a Judeo-Christian value system that upholds the US Constitution. Students log onto a secure classroom program to access the online classes from anywhere around the world. FPE is currently one of the fastest growing online private schools.

The online course and accompanying book that I got to review is called "Mother, Should I Trust the Government?" This course was geared toward students who are 13 years of age or older, or for their parents.

What is "Mother, Should I Trust the Government?

I was asked to take part in an 8-week online course, called "Mother, Should I Trust the Government?" The course was 2 hours each Monday night. I also received a paperback book by the same title, written by the instructor of the corresponding on-line class, Jake Jacobs, Ph.D. This course is just one online and on-campus classes that fpeusa.org offers. Discover the full line-up of 2015 courses to see what will fit into your schedule.

Who is Jake Jacobs?

He is currently living in Appleton, Wisconsin, has degrees in American History and Biblical and Judeo-Christian studies and has taught Social Studies in the public schools and college for more than 25 years. But, who he is and his background is not limited to this.

He is a historian, a knowledgeable and passionate speaker and writer who will not simply ramble off boring statistics but will pique your interest and move you to want to learn how you can act to make a difference.

He retired from teaching in the school setting and now travels as a public speaker to share his passion for the Constitution with a limited government and a balanced budget as well as to recapture Our Republic Under God. He is the president and founder of The Politically Incorrect Institute and stresses historical correctness. He has made television coverage with his public defense of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker on Fox & Friends.

Jake Jacobs, Ph.D. is one of the instructors at Freedom Project Education. There are several other instructors and course offerings through FPE, as well, including courses for K-12 grades. The premise behind FPE is that you will be taught how to think and not what to think, and the material will be presented from a Judeo-Christian Worldview while staying true to a Classical education as well as how FPE believes the founding fathers would have wanted education to look. The courses are offered online, so they can be accessed from anywhere around the world.

A video on the Freedom Project Education YouTube channel explains what FPE is:

When I received the book in the mail, I was thrilled to find that it also included a mini paperback book on the Constitution, and two bonus discs from the Freedom Project: "Who Owns Your Children?" and "Common Core".

The online class was easy to access and had graphics that accompanied Jake Jacobs, Ph.D. sitting behind a desk and casually discussing the topic at hand. We, as the students, were able to comment and ask questions or respond to questions by typing into the comment bar. We could then follow the students' comments on the stream.

My view of the Class

The format of the screen is really easy to follow. The teacher is in the upper left-hand corner, the students attending are listed below next to the comment stream where students type in questions or comments. The large section of screen space to the right was used for slides and graphics to make the course more appealing to visual learners.

He used interesting screenshots and slides to correspond to his talks during the classes:

The book includes political cartoons from A. F. Branco:

As the course progressed, the instructor also recommended books and documentaries to watch.

(This is a screenshot of one of the classes)

How Did We Use It?

First, I sat down to explain to my older children, age 13 and 14, that I was asked to attend this online course and they were welcome to attend with me every Monday night. I was taken back a bit with excitement when my 13-year-old daughter discovered there was a mini book on the Constitution that was sent with the package I received - She grabbed it out of my hands and ran away with it to devour its contents.

I gave my children the option of sitting in on the class or just having me sit in on the class and share with them what I learn. They both opted for me to sit in on the class. But, when the first class aired, they did end up catching some of it as they ate dinner with my laptop airing the class.

As the classes continued, I discovered that viewing the class on my iPhone was actually more enjoyable since I was able to clearly hear the discussion from those on campus, and I was also able to fix dinner or be a little more mobile while still taking in the full class.

What Did We Think?

I started reading the book as soon as I received it in the mail, so I already knew a bit of the author/instructor's background. I got more and more excited the more I learned about him as his ideas and beliefs are very similar to my own. Though, on the points where we differ, he always remained cordial and respecting of opposing viewpoints throughout the course of the class.

I really liked his relaxed style of conducting the class, yet he was very attentive to the comment stream from the students. The instructor obviously has his own opinions about how the government should be run, but I appreciated that he introduced other political streams of thoughts from people he doesn't agree with but made it clear that he respects. He stressed the importance of learning from each other like "iron sharpens iron".

I learned so much. Jake Jacobs Ph.D. is filled with a plethora of information. For instance, from the first class alone, I probably learned more than an entire year of high school or college-level history taught me.

I did not know that our American heritage and founding fathers included a huge Scottish Presbyterian influence. I also didn't realize what the movie "Braveheart" was about, and learned that it was about Scotland, Tyranny and Freedom. The instructor ended the first class, summing up the idea from the movie "Braveheart" and from the ideas of our founding fathers, that a man's house should be his castle.

I learned the truth behind Robin Hood, that the Puritans loaded more beer onto the Mayflower than water (probably, because the water supply was bad, and the beer was purified), that the term for liberals comes from the Latin word, "Libre", that it was actually the Republican party that was against slavery and that the Democrats are the ones who created the KKK, I did not realize that Lincoln was killed on Good Friday and so much more.

Each class that followed always brought several new concepts, for me, to light. The classes were jam-packed full of information. The following doesn't even cover everything that was discussed, but some of what he talked about included:

Libertarianism

The Stamp Act of 1765

Totalitarianism

Socialism

Nazi-ism

Federalism mindsets

The British government

The original Tea Party

Judeo-Christian worldview

Whether or not America was founded on Christianity

Samuel Adams

Rule of Law

The Boston Massacre

Various battles

Jefferson's worldview

What the word Republic meant

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

Abraham Lincoln

"To secure the blessings of liberty" as the purpose of government

Miracle at Philadelphia

The Constitutional Convention

Anti-Federalists

The ratification process

James Madison

Republican and Democrat platforms

The Three-Fifths Clause

The Missouri Compromise

The Secession mindset

Confederate History

...And finished off the final class discussing a rousing round of ideas about the 2016 presidential election and Progressive-ism.

He would end the classes with a new assignment each week, usually to read one or two chapters in the book to be ready for discussion at the next class.

He makes no apologies for his Christian perspective, but he has come to his Christian beliefs after seeking out the Truth for himself as an adult. He did not make me feel as though he was disrespectful of anyone else's beliefs or political party affiliations. Jake Jacobs is a knowledgeable instructor who has an interesting background that has had him come to understandings of Judeo Christian ideals, including living for awhile in Israel.

The classes were extremely interesting, and the book is an easy, comfortable read.